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New e-Filing Portal May Not be Working but Pay Your 1st Installment of Advance Tax for FY 2021-22 in Time!!

It’s been a full one week since the much-hyped launch of the new e-filing portal incometax.gov.in on 7th June at 8:45 p.m., but still the new portal is battling out with several technical glitches, with many functionalities still not working.   

Replying to the tweet of our honorable FM on 8th June, the vendor Infosys has assured that the new portal will stabilize within a week’s time, but that assurance has completely fallen in face with the users still struggling to even login to their registered e-filling accounts.

The ‘e-Proceedings’ utility containing all the assessments, appeals and penalty proceedings notices (either faceless or otherwise) is still not functional, the widely proclaimed Dashboard currently shows only the picture of an empty drawer with the message “no records found”, the e-Filing tab for ITR filing for AY 2021-22 is still inactive, and the e-Filing Tab for filing e-Appeal to CIT (Appeals) is not accepting even valid Document Identification Number (DIN) of appealable orders. The previous year's ITR Forms, Assessment and Appeal Notices and Replies, are not getting reflected. The downloadable acknowledgement receipts of previously filed ITRs and other online Forms are actually not getting downloaded.  Even the very basic things like getting access to one's Form 26AS is now appearing to be a big achievement in this new e-filing portal.

Infact in view of difficulties reported by taxpayers in filing of various online forms on the new e-filing portal, the apex body CBDT vide its Press Release dated 14.6.2021, has granted relaxation in e-filing of forms 15CA and 15CB for foreign remittances, and now these forms can be submitted in manual format to the authorised dealers till 30.6.2021, and a facility will be provided on the new e-filing portal to upload these forms at a later date for generating corresponding DIN. 

So, ironically, this new e-filing portal in its current avatar, instead of facilitating the widely proclaimed progression to digitalisation is infact currently working in its reverse gear and is forcing reverting to manual filing, to avert non-compliance of specified deadlines.   

This half working new e-filing portal has made many to wonder as to how would they pay their first instalment of Advance Tax for the current financial year 2021-22, the due date of which falls on 15.6.2021, or will there be any extension in this due date.

Well, as of now, any one pinning such hopes of extension in due date of payment of 1st installment of advance tax for the FY 2021-22, should not continue to remain pinned with such hope as the Income Tax Department has already sent gentle reminders to pay the first instalment of advance tax on or before the due date of 15.06.2021 to all the taxpayers through emails along with the url or the link to pay the advance tax electronically.

The mail from the ‘Insight’ unit of the Income Tax departments reads as under:

“Dear Taxpayer,

The Income Tax Department appreciates your contribution towards development of the progressive nation by payment of your taxes within specified due dates. The ITD would like to make a gentle reminder regarding due date for payment of first instalment of Advance tax for F.Y. 2021-22 which falls on 15.06.2021. Please pay your first instalment of advance tax, if due, online at your convenience from the comfort of your home/ office on or before 15.06.2021 to avoid any interest for late payment.

You are requested to compute the advance tax liability correctly and e-Pay by visiting https://onlineservices.tin.egov-nsdl.com/etaxnew/tdsnontds.jsp”

It is also pertinent to mention here that that the CBDT in its earlier Press Release dated 5.6.2021 has clarified that the new tax payment system will be launched on June 18th, 2021 after the advance tax instalment date to avoid any taxpayer inconvenience.

Therefore, the due date for making the payment for the first instalment of advance tax for the FY 2021-22 continues to remain 15.06.2021 only and all the taxpayers can make this payment exactly in the same manner, in which they used to make, before the launch of this new e-filing portal. Any delay in such payment will attract penal interest u/s 234B and 234C of the Income Tax Act.